Posts tagged ‘United Kingdom’

The UK’s premier business lobbying organization, the CBI, has called on the business world to “turn up the volume” in the debate about the country’s relationship with Europe. A referendum is expected by 2017 to decide whether or not there should be a British exit (or “Brexit”) from the European Union. But how could this impact the electricity and gas market?

Shell has become the first major to take proper advantage of the low oil price, taking out a company that it has long been interested in buying: BG. And the reason is a good one: not growth for its own sake but using BG’s assets to help it achieve its own goals faster. The transaction is underpinned by BG’s asset value, it said.

There are a couple months of the year that seem busier than others, and April is one in the oil industry. The first quarter has ended, and many of the editors here at Platts are readying themselves for the slew of earnings calls and reports that will be coming soon. Those quarterly updates can sometimes signal big changes – announcements about new projects, financial doings, production figures, etc. – and we wanted to assess the global oil industry now, in the calm before the storm.

The dramatic fall in crude oil prices in the second half of this year runs against the recent assumptions of the UK’s energy policy-makers. A policy of support for new nuclear power generation and offshore wind has been based not only on the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but also on the argument that fossil fuel prices are set to run ever-higher.

Among the many brilliant and baffling woodcuts by the Dutch artist MC Escher is a depiction of what appears to be a triangle made of three sections of wood, which is in fact an impossible construct owing to the way the joints appear to fit together.

If it existed at all, it would resemble the leg of an insect, which viewed from one position only would appear to enclose a triangle, but in reality it would form a three-part zigzag in space, two of its ends far apart.

Scotland’s independence vote has received a last-minute jolt of energy as polls show a surge by the Nationalist camp, which has effectively countered a mostly downbeat “No” campaign and picked holes in London’s claims to be a responsible custodian of North Sea oil.

A week ahead of the September 18 referendum and with oil remaining a major issue, pro-Union politicians and the financial community in London have been alarmed by polls showing the Nationalists level-pegging, after months in which the “Better Together” camp had a comfortable lead.

The UK gas market is looking comfortably supplied at present and wholesale prices reflect this. The average daily gas price assessed by Platts across July 2014 was 37.52 pence/therm, down 5% from June’s 39.50 p/th average, and down a huge 43% from the 65.28 p/th average for July last year.

The shift downwards has been evident throughout the year. The average day-ahead price to date this year is 49.80 p/th, down 27% compared with a 67.99 p/th average across 2013 as a whole.

London mayor and prime minister hopeful Boris Johnson announced this week amid much fanfare a new levy on diesel vehicles entering the capital. This made it to the front pages of many UK newspapers, despite ongoing wars in Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine, underscoring the significance to the daily lives of many Britons.

The plan is to charge diesel vehicles entering London £10 ($13) on top of the existing congestion charge (£10-11.50) from 2020, presumably providing an incentive for switching to cleaner vehicles over time. The levy will only apply to vehicles that do not meet the Euro 6 fuel standard, which means most diesel cars built before this year. Petrol cars built before 2006 will also be affected by the policy.

While the US has suffered the extreme cold of the polar vortex this winter, across the Atlantic the UK has been experiencing a mild, albeit very wet, season.

According to the national forecaster, the Met Office, the UK mean temperature during January 1-28 was 4.9 degrees Celsius, some 1.2 C higher than average, with England at 5.6 C, some 1.5 C above average. › Continue Reading

The Thames estuary has been transformed by offshore wind into a 21st Century seascape unique in form and function. Platts Energy Economist takes a trip down the famous river as part of its series of letters from capitals of key interest to the energy sector. The article appears below, as an advance peek at the story that will appear in the August 28 edition of Energy Economist.

Energy Economist provides critical analysis of energy sector trends and events globally for the power, coal, gas and oil industries. The next edition includes in-depth features on the thermal coal market, India’s gas price reform, Saudi Arabian oil exports, Canadian oil sands, nuclear prospects in Europe, Iraq and the fallacy of price forecasting. As editor-in-chief of Energy Economist, I wrote the piece below.